Hi ! I have been playing VGC for a while (since it is as we know it actually) and I use to check Smogon forums to find news ideas about teambuilding.
But here comes the problem : I definitely can't find any VGC team I feel good with since the XY release. So I hope I could get some ideas and/or advices from you !
As you might have noticed, English is not my maternal language, so I hope it won't make me too unaccurate or troublesome to read.
Well, first of all, I noticed that although weather teams got nerfed in XY, rain was still incredibely powerful and the fast and bulky (thanks to the brand new Assault Vest) Ludicolo was even more powerful than it used to in BW, so that's what I started with.
Politoed @ Sitrus Berry
Drizzle
Modest Nature
252 HP / 252 SPAtk / 4 SPDef
-Scald
-Ice Beam
-Protect
-Encore
THE fundamental Pokémon of every rain team. However, I find its set pretty terrible. It's not that bulky but not that strong neither... Encore isn't really handy because of the terrible speed of the green frog. I have tried a Choice Scarf version of Politoed some days ago with Hydro Pump and Focus Miss instead of Encore and Protect and I have been really impressed. However, I'm still running the Scarf on my Gardevoir and I don't really want to play Gardevoir without Scarf... We'll talk about it when we are at Gardevoir's part.
Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Swift Swim
Modest Nature
252 SPAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
-Scald
-Ice Beam
-Giga Drain
-Fake Out
One of my strongest sweepers. I don't think a lot of things should be switched out here.
Then, I noticed that I had a lot of troubles with Grass-Typed Pokémon, especially M-Venusaur, so I decided to run Talonflame.
Talonflame @ Choice Band
Gale Wings
Adamant Nature
252 Atk / 220 Spe / 36 HP
-Brave Bird
-Flare Blitz
-U-Turn
-Will-O-Wisp
It's the basic Choice Band set. It works well against Pokémon Politoed and Ludicolo hardly deal with and maintains a strong offensive presence, even if it's really frail. The EV spread allows it to outspeed Base 100 252+ Pokémon such has Jolly M-Kangaskhan to not be Sucker Punched on Brave Bird.
Then, I thought it would be dumb not to use a Mega, since it's a powerful add-on in almost any team. I decided to run for Kangaskhan.
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Scrappy
Jolly Nature
252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
-Fake Out
-Return
-Sucker Punch
-Protect
Yes. No PuP here. I tried a lot of sets and I felt good with this one. Since I lead with Politoed and Ludicolo when the opponent has no specifical threat, Kangaskhan is in the back and, if Fake Out is still appreciated in middle-game, PuP isn't really that good when you face the two last opponent's Pokémon, or at least it's how I feel about it. Protect is also really good since M-Kangaskhan is often double-targeted.
However, I found it really difficult to counter the "special dragons" such as Salamence and Hydreigon when I don't bring Politoed and its rain to support Ludicolo, that's why I decided to run Gardevoir.
Gardevoir @ Choice Scarf
Trace
Timid Nature
252 SPAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
-Psychic
-Moonblast
-Dazzling Gleam
-Thunderbolt
I used to run the Scarf with a Salamence but I found Gardevoir a bit more reliable, even if it's REALLY frail, since it allows me some interesting switches-in on Draco Meteor with a good predicion. It can also handle Tyranitar pretty well if I can send Politoed to make the SS stop and Garchomp, providing it's not also scarfed.
At this point, I noticed that a huge part of my team was almost OHKO'd by Talonflame. That's why my slot Pokémon is Rotom-W.
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Levitate
Bold Nature
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SPAtk
-Thunderbolt
-Hydro Pump
-Will-O-Wisp
-Protect
I still didn't have time to do some calcs about the EV's spread, so I just decided to maximise physical defense for now, since it's main goal was to tank Talonflame and OHKO it. It resists also pretty well to opposite Kangaskhan and can Wow them to make them almost forced to PuP next turn. Hydro Pump works pretty well in the rain and allows me to save some EV's in Special Attack for the same OHKO.
Other Ideas and Known Troubles
Unfortunately, I'm not really getting the results I would wish. I hardly handle opposite M-Kangaskhan, Ferrothorn, Gyarados, Aegislash and Zapdos (even if it's weak to Ice Beam, it's pretty hard to deal with it with Politoed and Ludicolo when the opponents leads with it and M-Kanga).
I'm really not satisfied with Politoed's set and, even if M-Kangaskhan is a real plus in my team, I think I could make a better use of my Mega slot. I already tested M-Manectric and didn't really liked it neither, why not Venusaur or Lucario (the last one could be useful against opposite M-Kanga).
Well, I think that's all about my team ! If you see flaws and checks to it that I didn't notice and if you have ideas to improve it, I'ld be glad to read what you think about it !
But here comes the problem : I definitely can't find any VGC team I feel good with since the XY release. So I hope I could get some ideas and/or advices from you !
As you might have noticed, English is not my maternal language, so I hope it won't make me too unaccurate or troublesome to read.
Well, first of all, I noticed that although weather teams got nerfed in XY, rain was still incredibely powerful and the fast and bulky (thanks to the brand new Assault Vest) Ludicolo was even more powerful than it used to in BW, so that's what I started with.
Politoed @ Sitrus Berry
Drizzle
Modest Nature
252 HP / 252 SPAtk / 4 SPDef
-Scald
-Ice Beam
-Protect
-Encore
THE fundamental Pokémon of every rain team. However, I find its set pretty terrible. It's not that bulky but not that strong neither... Encore isn't really handy because of the terrible speed of the green frog. I have tried a Choice Scarf version of Politoed some days ago with Hydro Pump and Focus Miss instead of Encore and Protect and I have been really impressed. However, I'm still running the Scarf on my Gardevoir and I don't really want to play Gardevoir without Scarf... We'll talk about it when we are at Gardevoir's part.
Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Swift Swim
Modest Nature
252 SPAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
-Scald
-Ice Beam
-Giga Drain
-Fake Out
One of my strongest sweepers. I don't think a lot of things should be switched out here.
Then, I noticed that I had a lot of troubles with Grass-Typed Pokémon, especially M-Venusaur, so I decided to run Talonflame.
Talonflame @ Choice Band
Gale Wings
Adamant Nature
252 Atk / 220 Spe / 36 HP
-Brave Bird
-Flare Blitz
-U-Turn
-Will-O-Wisp
It's the basic Choice Band set. It works well against Pokémon Politoed and Ludicolo hardly deal with and maintains a strong offensive presence, even if it's really frail. The EV spread allows it to outspeed Base 100 252+ Pokémon such has Jolly M-Kangaskhan to not be Sucker Punched on Brave Bird.
Then, I thought it would be dumb not to use a Mega, since it's a powerful add-on in almost any team. I decided to run for Kangaskhan.
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Scrappy
Jolly Nature
252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
-Fake Out
-Return
-Sucker Punch
-Protect
Yes. No PuP here. I tried a lot of sets and I felt good with this one. Since I lead with Politoed and Ludicolo when the opponent has no specifical threat, Kangaskhan is in the back and, if Fake Out is still appreciated in middle-game, PuP isn't really that good when you face the two last opponent's Pokémon, or at least it's how I feel about it. Protect is also really good since M-Kangaskhan is often double-targeted.
However, I found it really difficult to counter the "special dragons" such as Salamence and Hydreigon when I don't bring Politoed and its rain to support Ludicolo, that's why I decided to run Gardevoir.
Gardevoir @ Choice Scarf
Trace
Timid Nature
252 SPAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
-Psychic
-Moonblast
-Dazzling Gleam
-Thunderbolt
I used to run the Scarf with a Salamence but I found Gardevoir a bit more reliable, even if it's REALLY frail, since it allows me some interesting switches-in on Draco Meteor with a good predicion. It can also handle Tyranitar pretty well if I can send Politoed to make the SS stop and Garchomp, providing it's not also scarfed.
At this point, I noticed that a huge part of my team was almost OHKO'd by Talonflame. That's why my slot Pokémon is Rotom-W.
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Levitate
Bold Nature
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SPAtk
-Thunderbolt
-Hydro Pump
-Will-O-Wisp
-Protect
I still didn't have time to do some calcs about the EV's spread, so I just decided to maximise physical defense for now, since it's main goal was to tank Talonflame and OHKO it. It resists also pretty well to opposite Kangaskhan and can Wow them to make them almost forced to PuP next turn. Hydro Pump works pretty well in the rain and allows me to save some EV's in Special Attack for the same OHKO.
Other Ideas and Known Troubles
Unfortunately, I'm not really getting the results I would wish. I hardly handle opposite M-Kangaskhan, Ferrothorn, Gyarados, Aegislash and Zapdos (even if it's weak to Ice Beam, it's pretty hard to deal with it with Politoed and Ludicolo when the opponents leads with it and M-Kanga).
I'm really not satisfied with Politoed's set and, even if M-Kangaskhan is a real plus in my team, I think I could make a better use of my Mega slot. I already tested M-Manectric and didn't really liked it neither, why not Venusaur or Lucario (the last one could be useful against opposite M-Kanga).
Well, I think that's all about my team ! If you see flaws and checks to it that I didn't notice and if you have ideas to improve it, I'ld be glad to read what you think about it !
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